Someone was jealous....

Meet Tristan, my first Cardigan. The "potato chip" that started me on this wonderful journey 8.5 years ago. Tristan is great pals with Sabrina. He would prefer that I got rid of all the other dogs though. That's what he told an animal communicator anyway.

Tristan, Sabrina & Troy get to sleep in bed with me when Leonard is on the road. When Leonard is home they all have dog beds or the sofa... where ever they choose to spend the night when there is no room on the human bed.

Tristan is jealous of Sabrina's royal chambers and plush dog beds. Last night when I was putting her to bed, he snuck in with her and plastered himself on the beds, trying to make himself invisible, as if I could not see him there...


So he kept Brina company all night and Troy had a delightful sleep as the only dog in bed with mom.

UPDATED: Luther's photo & call name pedigree.

Luther's pedigree now complete. Thanks Dina for the new photo of Sam and for his parents' call names!

UPDATED: Photo & Call Name Pedigrees

Following Penni's lead, I decided to add call names to my photo pedigrees.
Here is Magnet's 3 generation photo pedigree. Call names are in green. THANK YOU Carolyn & Traci for Sadie's information!

Zsa's is 90%. Rita is getting me the photo I am missing. Once it is complete I will share since Laura asked who she was out of. I didn't forget!

Zsa Zsa report

Zsa Zsa says Sunday is her day and she has hijacked the blog.


Zsa Zsa here. This all started when I was comfortably enjoying the bed with Sabrina. (Trying to keep Sabrina off the bed is a work in progress.)

Then came the bath.

And then the dryer... Mom says I was a very good girl with all of this.

Then I posed pretty for the camera.


And for some reason mom was getting all teary eyed, saying I reminded her of my Auntie...

Luther's Next Adventure

I didn't have the opportunity to write about this sooner, with my worry over Sabrina. Luther & I are embarking on a new adventure - rally obedience! I have not been on the other end of an obedience leash in over a decade! I hated the stresses of the obedience ring, though I did put CDs on 2 dogs.

My first, "Damian", whom I ILP'd as Goldhoff Damian Debonaire CD CGC TDI (9/21/92-6/18/99), was a shelter rescue Dobe whom I took to an obedience class just to be able to live with him. It was this dog that introduced me into the world of purebred dogs. We lost him way too soon to Cardiomyopathy.

I was burned out by "military style" obedience and that is where I found enjoyment in the conformation ring. I did enjoy watching Rally at the National. I think it is much more natural to be able to talk to your dog while working as a team.

I think Luther's likes this too!

Last Monday was our first basic obedience class with a local obedience club. I am so proud of my boy. In the past, before I decided this is what I wanted to do, I did try to use the food method to lure him into a sit. Luther is so well trained to stand and bait for the show ring, he was getting frustrated with me and not understanding what I wanted.

I taught him to sit in minutes by gently pulling up on the leash with my right hand and using my thumb and fore finger of my left hand to put a light pressure just ahead of his hips, both at the same time while commanding "sit". He was then praised for being a good boy.

We also started heeling. In class we only heeled in a big circle. 1. I got dizzy. 2. It was boring.

When practicing our home work, without using food, when Luther was lagging I to talk to him to keep him up with me. If he started to forge ahead, I did an "about turn" to keep his attention. It is working well! A friend suggested that I heel in a zig zag. It definitely keeps it more interesting than a circle.

Our instructor told us to do our homework for 30 minutes each day. Cardigans are way too smart and would quickly hate obedience if you worked them that long. I am training Luther 5-10 minutes a day with great results! In the first practice session he started sitting automatically when I stop. Lots of praise makes Luther a happy dog.

I also am not fond of using my back yard as the sole training area. When I can, I like to work my dog in public places. On Wednesday morning we trained in the truck stop parking lot. Diesel engines and Leonard busy doing the pretrip inspection on his tractor-trailer make good distractions.

After we practice, we get to play. Luther only gets his new sheep toy after our homework to keep this special.

The royal bed chamber...

Sabrina is feeling so good she wanted to go play with the pack! You don't know how happy I am to have "my dog back"!

I do need to keep her quiet for the next week until her staples come out so I set up the Royal Chambers in our bedroom. Anyone owned by a female Cardigan should realize that they are princesses.

Miss Sabrina resting her royal head on a plush pink pillow.

Pyometra Symptoms (or lack of)

Pyometra, especially closed, can be very difficult to diagnose. My best advice to you is KNOW YOUR DOG! Sabrina was NOT "classic" and knowing her nuances probably saved her life.

A week ago Sunday, 6/14, Sabrina was "under the weather". Just "blah"... not her usual perky self. We thought it was a relapse of Lyme disease so I put her on doxicycline. With Lyme, even though they need the doxy for a month, they rebound in a day or two. Which she did… but then this past Sunday, 6/21, she was very uncomfy again and lethargic. She wouldn't jump on our bed and when we tried to lift her, her abdomen felt tight and you could tell that touching it hurt. There was NO DISCHARGE. During all of this Sabrina still had her appetite, even eating breakfast Monday morning before I brought her to the vet. She was dehydrated.

Pyo usually occurs in older bitches, 2-3 months after they come in season. Sabrina is 6 years old and never had regular heat cycles. I have been waiting for her to come in season. She was due in March. Most of April was I was out of the house between staying with a friend and traveling to and from the National. Our nephew house sat during the week and Leonard was home on the weekends. During this time I did not leave an intact male at home as I did not need an accidental breeding to happen. A good move on my part as Leonard caught Chloe coming in season while I was away, but not Sabrina. Maybe Sabrina had a silent heat at the same time? One usually brings in others.

For diagnostics, blood work is one of the firsts tests done. The infection becomes wide spread that the white blood cell count sky rockets. Sabrina’s blood work was fine but she was also on the doxy for a week. Having her on the doxy probably kept the infection in check.

BTW she did test negative for Lyme. One less thing to worry about!

Open pyo, where the cervix is open and the pus is draining from the vulva, can be treated with prostoglandens so you can breed your bitch the next season, but not closed pyo. And I prefer to spay rather than go that route so I do not have to worry about it reocurring, which it usually does.

Sabrina's show career is over, I truly wanted to finish her, but as long as I have her I don't care! She is the champion of my heart, and that's what matters! Sabrina is the dam of some very special pups out there and they will carry on.

Another Sabrina Update

Sabrina is doing well but still feeling a bit "punky" She will stay another day at the clinic, on an IV, and I can bring her home tomorrow. One uterine horn was bigger than the other, but not hugely engorged. Her cervix was closed, which is the more dangerous form of the disease, as the pus has no where to escape her body. We are very grateful we caught this when we did.

Again, THANK YOU very much for all your prayers. They truly work!

Sabrina Pyo Update

I had to pick Leonard up from the truck stop and (of course) I forgot to forward the house phone to my cell. My vet left a message that Sabrina came through the surgery fine and she was waking up. She did have a pyo going so this was a good call. I will talk to them tomorrow morning.

Thanks so much everyone for your good wishes!

Pyometra

Sabrina spent yesterday hospitalized and today we await her spay surgery for pyometra.

I am so trying to keep myself busy while pacing the floors until I hear back from my vet.

Sweet Sunday

Zsa Zsa loves Uncle Luther.

He is fun to play with!

And Luther loves his new cow toy!

Match Show Judging

It was great to be back in the center of the ring again! This is me awarding a lovely GSP Best Adult in Match.

More from Bermuda...

Our arrival - the Royal Dockyard and Maritime Museum. King's Wharf, Bermuda.

The first stop on our bus tour of the island was the beautiful chapel built in the 1630s. It is still in use today.
The ceiling showing the original bermuda cedar beams and limestone roof.

The interior of the chapel. "Rejoice in the Lord always." How true.

The view from the chapel.

The world's smallest, working drawbridge! The Somerset Bridge.

Gibb's Lighthouse and a partial view from the hill. You can see our cruise ship in the background.

A lizzard in a bush at the light house.

Horseshoe Beach. These were taken from the tour bus.

A tree (and Leonard) in the botanical garden.

More of the botanical garden.

St. George, the other end of the island. I LOVE the lime green building!

Feeding the fish in St. George while we had lunch at The Whitehorse Tavern.

More pictures later!

I can stare at this face all day!

Summer time fun!

Snickers teaching Zsa Zsa the finer points of snorkling...


Darla joining in on the fun...


Troy & Chloe say "No way!"

PS: Thanks for the well wishes.
Penni - good, legal drugs do work wonders! Not sure about the ones your clients know about. LOL!

Way behind...

.... I am so behind on email .... seems I came down with a nasty cold and ear infection. I am now on a couple good meds so hopefully on the mend soon.